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virgin definition

vir·gin (vʉrjən)

noun

    1. a woman, esp. a young woman, who has never had sexual intercourse
    2. an unmarried girl or woman
  1. a man, esp. a youth, who has never had sexual intercourse
  2. Informal a person who is entirely new to or inexperienced in a specified thing a stock market virgin
  3. Zool.
    1. a female animal that has not copulated
    2. a female insect that lays eggs without impregnation by the male

Etymology: ME < OFr virgine < L virgo (gen. virginis), maiden: ? akin to virga, slender branch, twig, shoot

adjective

  1. being a virgin
  2. composed of virgins
  3. characteristic of or proper to a virgin; chaste; modest
  4. like or suggesting a virgin because untouched, unmarked, pure, clean, etc. virgin snow
  5. up to this time unused, unexplored, unworked, undiscovered, etc. a virgin forest
  6. occurring uncombined in its native form virgin silver
  7. being the first; initial a virgin effort
    1. obtained from the first pressing, without the use of heat: said of an oil, esp. olive oil
    2. obtained directly from an ore or raw material: said esp. of a metal
  8. made without alcohol: said of a drink otherwise prepared like a cocktail a virgin piña colada
virgin Idioms

the Virgin

  1. Mary, the mother of Jesus
  2. Virgo, the constellation and sixth sign of the zodiac

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:
virgin Synonyms

virgin

modif.

  1. Chaste

    maidenly, pure, modest, virginal; see chaste 2, 3.

  2. Original or natural

    undisturbed, fresh, new, untamed; see natural 3, original 1, 3.


virgin

n.

maiden, unmarried woman, spinster, girl, virgo intacta (Latin).


Virgin

n.

Madonna, Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Saints, Our Lady, Mother of God, Mary, the Queen of Heaven, Queen of Angels, Star of the Sea, The Virgin Mother, Immaculate Conception, Immaculate Mary, BVM*; see also saint 2.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

virgin Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • sacrifice: Woodward's virginity was an important plot element in the original, a neat spin on the idea of sacrificing virgins.

Adjective modifier

  • vestal: Then those sixteen vestal virgins would surely be mine.

Used with adjective complement

  • bless: The teaching about the assumption of the body of the blessed virgin into heaven used to be doctrine.
virgin usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

virgin quotes

Pange, lingua, gloriosi Corporis mysterium, Sanguinisque pretiosi, Quem in mundi pretium Fructus ventris generosi Rex effudit gentium. Now, my tongue, the mystery telling Of the glorious Body sing, And the Blood, all price excelling, Which the Gentiles' Lord and King, In aVirgin's womb once dwelling, Shed for this world's ransoming.

-Aquinas, StThomas

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

-Bible (Old Testament)

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which wasspoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is,God with us.

-Bible (NewTestament)

virgin quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"virgin." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/virgin>

APA Style

virgin. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/virgin

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